A Summer To Remember
by obsidian glass
Summary: Sirius doesn't think it's appropriate for Harry to return to the Dursley's immediately after witnessing Cedric's death in the third task. He takes matters into his own hands to ensure his godson's well being. A guardian fic. AU after GoF.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is my first Harry Potter fic, so I hope you all enjoy. The story is AU after the third task in GoF, but will mention bits that happen in canon in the other books. It's a Sirius as Harry's guardian fic.

Disclaimer: Not mine. The very first paragraph is taken directly from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, page 618.

A Summer To Remember

Chapter 1

* * *

'That will do to be going on with,' said Dumbledore, stepping between them once more. 'Now I have work for each of you. Fudge's attitude, though not unexpected, changes everything. Sirius, I need you to set off at once. You are to alert Remus Lupin, Arabella Figg, Mundungus Fletcher – the old crowd. Lie low at Lupin's for a while, I will contact you there.'

'No,' Sirius replied, eyes wavering over his godson, a slight frown on his face, 'I'm staying.'

Dumbledore turned his gaze towards Sirius momentarily before quickly fixing his attention on Snape. Murmuring voices filled the room until Snape acknowledged his orders and went on his way.

Sirius gave Harry's hand a gentle squeeze then stood to address Dumbledore. 'A word, if you would.'

'Certainly,' he replied, nodding at Madame Pomfrey's vacant office.

The door clicked shut. Silence briefly engulfed the room.

'Your plans for Harry?' Sirius demanded.

Dumbledore eyed him for a second before answering. 'He will remain in the hospital wing until the end of term, then return to his aunt and uncle as usual.'

'I don't think that will be suitable.' His tone was pleasant, but his stance defined anything but.

'I'm surprised at you, Sirius. It is imperative the Order reforms, and quickly. Lives will be at stake. You know this. There is another time for this discussion.'

'Really?' Sirius challenged.

'Yes,' Dumbledore said sharply.

'There is no reason for me to recruit the former members. I'm a convicted murder with a ten thousand galleon price tag on my head. While some may relish the idea of my innocence it will take convincing, and the likes of Mundungus Fletcher would be more likely to barter for my soul with the Ministry than rejoin the Order.' Sirius paused, breathing deeply; he growled 'believe me, this is the perfect time for this discussion. Harry can't go back there. Not after he's just seen. ..'

'He has to return to his aunt and uncle,' Dumbledore replied softy.

'Why is this your decision?' Sirius countered, taking effort to keep his voice in check, 'do you forget what James and Lily named me in the event of their deaths?'

'I don't forget, but Sirius, you are a convicted criminal. You cannot simply take Harry on the run with you!'

'I have no intention of taking him on the run with me, Albus.'

'Then what do you propose?'

'You are aware that I'm the last Black?'

A nod.

'My inheritance is a house in London. I would be happy to offer it as has headquarters for the Order. It already has a number of security spells in place, with a few more, I think you would find it more than suitable.' He continued stiffly, 'contrary to what you think, I am aware of what it at stake here. My time could be used more productively,' he glanced towards Harry's bed, 'on something I'm sure both you and the order will come to value most highly.'

'Nevertheless, you are still a convicted –'

'-But as you know of my innocence surely you will not allow a conviction to impede your judgement? Or more precisely James and Lily's judgment?'

The words rang through the room.

Dumbledore looked slightly taken aback, but he sighed in defeat. 'Very well, he can leave Hogwarts with you but Harry _must_ return to the Dursley's for at least two weeks during this summer. There is an iron clad reason which I would be happy to discuss later. I can, however, tell you his safety depends on it.'

It was more of a truce than a win but Sirius conceited. 'I would say he will probably spend the last two weeks at his aunt and uncle's since you insist.'

'Now the house...'

'Grimmauld Place. I will be able to take you there once Harry has drunk his potion. It has been uninhabited for decades now and will need a handful of house elves to tidy up a few rooms before Harry and I, and the rest of the order will be able to use it.'

'Thank you, Sirius.'

Sirius looked at the elder man scathingly. 'I understand how vital the Order is, Albus, but I have priorities. I know that you think Harry's presence will be critical in the second war. I don't know in what way, but there is no point sending a broken boy to try to save the world. He'll need help. And right now he needs more than his friends.'

Without another word Sirius spun on his heel and returned to his godson's bedside.

Harry lay, white as the sheets, eyes closed, surrounded by Mrs Weasley, Ron and Hermione. The dreamless sleep potion sat untouched on the bedside cabinet. Sirius moved forwards and was grateful when they dispersed slightly, giving him more space with his godson.

He took Harry's hand gingerly and began stroking it with the soft pad of his thumb. 'It'll be alright, Harry,' he whispered hoarsely.

Harry turned towards his voice slowly opening his eyes. Brilliant green sought out Sirius' own. It was unnerving to see the hollowness they encompassed. He looked completely devastated.

'I told him to take the cup with me,' he said.

'It wasn't your fault, Harry,' Sirius replied, surprised at the gruffness in his voice.

Harry struggled to maintain his composure. A lone tear slowly worked its way down the boy's cheek. Sirius cupped his face and absently brushed the tear away. He didn't miss the way Harry tentatively leaned into his touch. With his free hand Sirius grasped the potion and moved it towards Harry.

They remained that way for several minutes.

Sirius finally broke the silence. 'You should take your potion; everything will be a bit easier when you wake up. Okay?'

Harry nodded his response and took the cup out of his godfather's hand, draining it. The effect was instantaneous. Sirius watched as Harry's eyes drooped slowly, and then finally closed. He stood abruptly and turned towards Dumbledore.

'I will take you to Grimmauld Place now. I want to be back here when Harry wakes.'

Dumbledore nodded. Together they left the room, leaving behind a bewildered Ron, Hermione and Mrs Weasley.

* * *

There was something heavy and warm on his feet. It wasn't very uncomfortable, but his toes were starting to go numb. Groggily, he tried to move it off; when it didn't budge he gave it a solid kick.

A high pitched yelp sounded through the air and a massive black dog looked at him reproachfully.

Harry resisted the urge to laugh. 'Sorry Snuffles, didn't realize it was you.'

Padfoot sprung back onto the bed and started nuzzling Harry's neck.

'I'm fine, you know,' Harry whispered, his eyes barely meeting Padfoot's, 'you don't have to do this.'

Padfoot scanned the room. Seeing it empty he immediately return to his human form. He drew a chair and sat down next to the bed. His hand found Harry's. He gave it a gentle squeeze.

'It's alright if you're not fine, Harry. You don't have to pretend to be for me.' His voice was equally as soft.

Harry merely bobbed his head up and down.

Sirius didn't press the issue. Instead he asked, 'what is all "this"?'

'You got into a fight with Dumbledore over me. And I know you're not doing something important because of me as well.' He absently plucked at a lose string on the bedspread.

'How did you know about Dumbledore?' He asked, cocking his head to one side.

Harry smiled weakly. 'You should have put a silencing charm on the office. I didn't hear exactly what you said, but you sounded pretty angry...'

'Don't worry about Dumbledore. I convinced him my talents would be more useful elsewhere. His plan wasn't really that great to begin with, to be honest.' He lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. 'For the greatest wizard of our age, sometimes he lacks common sense.'

Harry feigned amusement. Something else was nagging at him. 'But you were meant to go do something important?'

'My new job is more important, believe me.'

Harry felt a surge of joy in his chest but he kept his face void of emotion. 'You're sure?' he asked somewhat sheepishly .

Sirius smiled warmly. 'Yes I'm sure,' he said firmly.

Harry face broke into his first real smile in weeks.

* * *

Harry stayed in the hospital wing until the last day of term. Sirius was with him for the better part of his stint as Padfoot, often curling up on the end of his bed to help him sleep or just for company. He left mysterious a few times with Dumbledore, but this was generally when Ron and Hermione were visiting so his presence was not missed. Sirius had briefly explained that Harry would be staying with him for most of the holidays but he had to return to the Dursley's for two weeks towards the end of summer. Harry was more than happy to delay his return to his relatives. Two weeks out of fifty-two sounded worlds better than an entire summer. He wasn't nearly as fazed as usual with his eventual return. He had interrogated Sirius a few times for more details, but Sirius, himself, wasn't too sure but reassured him it was under control.

Dusk was falling. Sirius had just left Hogwarts, and Harry was returning to Gryffindor tower for the first time in days to pack his trunk. It was decided he would catch the train to Kings Cross and meet Lupin at the barrier who would take him to Sirius's hideout. Sirius said that this it was a necessary precaution. He needed to be seen on the train, as no doubt some of the death eater children would be watching him to report back to their parents. This summer had to appear like any other.

Harry hurried out of the hospital wing, glad to be finally rid of the place. He was just about to set foot in the corridor, when he quite literally ran into Dumbledore.

'Sorry, sir, didn't see you there.'

Dumbledore waved at him dismissively. 'I'm glad I caught you,' he said serenely. 'This won't make sense until tomorrow, but it is important you remember what I say. Understood?'

'Yes, sir.'

'The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve Grimmauld Place.'

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed! Also, heads up: mild swear word in this chapter.

A Summer To Remember

Chapter 2

Harry stood with Lupin outside of a dingy block of apartments in central London. He waited for a few moments before he turned to his former Professor. "Er - is something supposed to be happening?"

"Sorry, Harry. I though you knew what to do," he said in his kind, patient voice. "Think about what Professor Dumbledore told you yesterday."

He remembered the Headmaster's rather odd farewell. He had taken it in his stride at the time. It wasn't the first time the Hogwarts professor had said something that Harry thought he would have absolutely no hope understanding.

_The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve Grimmauld Place. _

As soon as these words ran through the forefront of his mind a door appeared between numbers eleven and thirteen. Lupin gestured for them to enter.

Once inside Lupin smiled at Harry's obvious confusion. "Professor Dumbledore had to tell you the location before you can see the house. It's for the Order's protection. He's the secret keeper."

"The Order?" Harry questioned.

Lupin launched into a brief spiel about the secret society. Harry nodded along but his attention was slowly dwindling. The house they were standing in didn't look anything like what he would have pictured the anti-Voldemort headquarters to look like. In fact, it looked more like Death Eater headquarters. He shuddered involuntarily.

"...So Sirius offered his old house as headquarters for the Order," Lupin finished.

"I don't think I'll be doing much else." Sirius's voice came from the shadows.

Harry almost jumped in surprise. He hadn't noticed his godfather entering the room.

"This is your house?" Harry inquired. It was an unexpected turn in the conversation.

"I grew up here. It was left to me when my parents died." He glanced around the room superciliously. "To be honest, I don't really want think of it as mine. I mean I'm sure you can tell by looking at the place, my parents were dark wizards." Sirius gave a heavy sigh. "I never thought I would be back here."

"I can relate," Harry said thinking of the Dursley's and Privet drive.

Harry thought he saw Sirius looking at him quizzically, but when he looked back his features were blank, but he was definitely watching him.

"How was the train ride?" he asked. The sudden subject change did not go unnoticed.

"Interesting, I found out what happens when you use Furnunculus curse and the Jelly-Legs hex at the same time."

"Do I want to know how you found out?" Sirius asked only half joking.

Harry looked at him almost sheepishly. "Probably not."

"What happens?" he questioned, his interest piqued.

"You get tentacles all over your face."

Sirius's bark like laughter filled the room. His eyes lost their Azkaban haunt for a few seconds. It was the first time Harry saw them as the same as his parents old wedding picture. He wanted to see them like that again.

"You remind me of James and me so much sometimes," he said with an amused shake of his head. "We were always messing around with hexes and jinxes, got into _loads _of trouble too. Not that that's a suggestion, mind you."

"I guess that means I don't get any pointers?" Harry teased.

Lupin shook his head at both of them, smiling. "Enough pleasantries, I'm starving."

Sirius led the way into the kitchen. The three of them ate a quiet dinner together but Lupin had to leave soon after to try to track down more of the former Order members.

Harry and Sirius tried stayed up talking but before long exhaustion began to claim them. Together they set off up the stairs.

* * *

Screaming echoed through the house. No one was here, except him and Harry. _Harry!_

"Shit..." he mumbled, bounding down the narrow staircase. This house was supposed to be safe! He ran towards Harry's room nearly ripping the door off its hinges in his haste.

Harry was thrashing on the bed, but the problem was nothing more than a nightmare. Just a nightmare. Momentary relief coursed through him.

His head snapped up. The panic returned. This situation was very foreign. He was way out of his depth here.

He had actually spent very little time with his godson. Their previous meetings had always been marred with some impending disaster. He mentally ticked them off: the ministry had been after his soul, someone in Hogwarts wanted Harry dead and had entered him into a dangerous tournament, and the last and certainly the most traumatic, Harry had just seen one of his school mates die. It had been all business, no play. His instincts had generally worked when Harry was a baby. He could see no reason why they wouldn't work now. He dragged in a calming breath. He would play this instinctively, that could work. It had to work.

Harry was still mumbling 'no, no,' his head rolling across the pillow as Sirius crouched down beside his bed.

"Harry," Sirius said, gingerly shaking his shoulders, "wake up."

Harry's eyes shot open. "What?"

The question was barely past his godson's lips before he answered, "nightmare."

Heat slid up Harry's neck. He willed it not to come onto his cheeks. "I'm sorry," he whispered dragging a sweaty palm across his face, "didn't mean to wake you."

"It's fine," Sirius replied automatically.

They looked at each other for a while, staying completely motionless; neither of them sure what to do from here.

Sirius finally broke the silence. "I guess you can't go back to sleep?"

Harry stared at him. "You think?" he returned sarcastically. "You can go back to bed. I'll deal with this. I've done it before."

"No. No, that's not what I meant." Sirius said hastily. "I just wanted to make sure you couldn't before I went from there. Sorry, I don't really know – this is new to me," he confessed.

Harry looked deeply apologetic. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap."

Sirius let out a feeble chuckle. "If you think that's snapping, you've got a lot to learn."

"I can snap if I want to..." Harry darkly mumbled.

"What was that?" Sirius had heard him. He was teasing.

"Nothing..." Harry replied. A ghost of a smile crossed his lips, the mood was lightening.

Sirius took his mini victory with a smirk.

"Do you want to ... talk about it?" Sirius suggested hesitantly.

"Honestly, I'd prefer not to."

"Let's go down to the kitchen and get some hot chocolate then?" Sirius suggested.

"I'm alright. You can go back to sleep, if you want. I can deal with this on my own."

Sirius cocked his head to one side. "But you don't have to."

Harry merely shrugged.

He offered a hand, and hoisted Harry to his feet. "Come on, you'll feel better."

* * *

Harry took a huge gulp of hot chocolate. The drink wormed its way to his stomach. The hot liquid actually soothed his worries a little. He remembered Lupin used to give him chocolate after the dementors presence. Sirius must have known the old remedy as well.

"Feel any better?"

Harry felt himself nodding briefly.

Sirius slowly stirred his hot chocolate, eyeing Harry across the table. Harry stared into the depths of his cup, as if trying to read the liquid as tea leaves. For the second time that night Sirius was the first to break the silence.

"Remember what I said in the hospital wing? You don't have to pretend to be alright. No one expects you to be. It's okay to let your guard down a little."

Harry mumbled something incoherent.

"What was that?" Sirius pushed.

"But I should be fine." Harry's voice was barely audible. He was hesitant.

"Why should you be fine?" Sirius asked lightly.

"I don't have the right to feel sad about it. I wasn't his friend. I barely knew him, and," he paused, swirling his cup between his hands, debating whether or not to confess his true feelings. "It's my fault he's dead. No matter what anyone says, I told him to take the cup with me. It's still my fault."

"No. Don't say that. It wasn't your fault. You didn't know the cup was a portkey. You couldn't have predicted this. No one could have."

"It _is_ my fault."

"No, Harry. It isn't," Sirius said firmly.

"Still..." His eyes fell back to his cup.

Sirius regarded him for a moment. "No, I want you to think about it, really think. Did you know the cup was a portkey?"

"No," Harry returned reluctantly.

"Did you know taking it together would bring both of you to the mercy of Voldemort?"

"No." He said with a sigh.

"Did you point your wand a Cedric and kill him?" he asked softly.

"No."

"See?" Sirius said with a gentle smile. "It wasn't your fault at all. If you want to blame someone, blame the person responsible. This was Voldemort's doing, not yours. Okay?"

"I guess you're right..." His voice trailed off. "It just, it just it... _hurts._"

Sirius crossed the room and put his both hands on Harry's shoulders.

"I was a lot older than you the first time I saw someone die. I can tell you, I felt the same way. It did hurt, it still _does _hurt. But the pain fades with time. It gets better. Trust me, alright?"

"Mhmm," Harry said half halfheartedly.

Sirius refilled their hot chocolates with a flick of his wand. "At least drink some more."

Harry looked at him. He was steadily getting calmer as the minutes wore by. Harry pointed at the cup. "You didn't lace these did you?" he asked suspiciously.

"No, chocolate is just an old remedy." Sirius said. To be honest the thought had crossed his mind but he'd decided he wanted Harry's trust. A calming draught would only put off put off the inevitable .It wouldn't make the situation go away. Sirius had learnt from experience it was better to get his feelings off his chest, not bury them. His past mistakes didn't need to be repeated if he could help it.

They spent the next few hours reliving the stories of the marauders. Harry's mood lightened as the night wore on. When Sirius finally got a genuine laugh out of him, he suggested sleep again.

Harry consented. Somehow the idea, now, didn't seen nearly as horrible. Together the traipsed up the narrow staircase.

"Next time I see Snape I'll see if I can convince him to give us some Dreamless Sleep." Sirius said as they approached Harry's room. "It's really addictive so you can't take it often, but it wouldn't hurt to have some on hand."

"Snape?" Harry questioned sharply.

"Yeah, he's in the order, a spy for our side, apparently." Sirius chuckled at the look of disgust on his godson's face.

"Ugh."

Sirius grinned at the only person who could make him voluntarily seek out Severus Snape. "My sentiments exactly."

TBC


End file.
